Manas National Park

Introduction

Manas National Park is a Wildlife Sanctuary, UNESCO Natural World Heritage site, a Project Tiger Reserve, an Elephant Reserve and a Biosphere Reserve in Assam, India. Located in the Himalayan foothills, it is contiguous with the Royal Manas National Park in Bhutan. The park is known for its rare and endangered endemic wildlife such as the Assam Roofed Turtle, Hispid Hare, Golden Langur and Pygmy Hog. Manas is famous for its population of the wild water buffalo.

Geography

The park is divided into three ranges. The western range is based at Panbari, the central at Bansbari near Barpeta Road, and the eastern at Bhuiyapara near Pathsala. The ranges are not well connected; while two major rivers need to be forded in going from the centre to the Panbari, there is a rough trail (the daimAri road) connecting the central to the eastern range. Most visitors come to Bansbari and then spend some time inside the forest at Mathanguri on the Manas river at the Bhutan border. Manas is located in the Eastern Himalaya foothills. The park is densely forested. The Manas river is the main river, a major tributary of Brahmaputra river. The Manas River flows through the west of the park, further it splits into two separate rivers, the Beki and Bholkaduba. Manas and five other small rivers flow through the National Park which lies on a wide low-lying alluvial terrace below the foothills of the outer Himalayas. The river also acts an international border dividing India and Bhutan. The bedrock of the savanna area in the north of the park is made up of Limestone and sandstone, whereas the grasslands in the south of the park is made up of deep deposits of fine alluvium. The combination of Sub-Himalayan Bhabar Terai formation along with riverine succession continuing up to Sub-Himalayan mountain forest making it one of the richest biodiversity areas in the world. The park is 950 km² big and mostly just 50-100 metres above mean sea level.